Krause Fighter Jeff Molina Suspended By NSAC

Another fighter associated with combat sports coach James Krause has been suspended by a commission, although few details as to why have been shared.

Jeff Molina is the latest UFC fighter facing commission sanctions in relation to the expanding investigation into his head coach James Krause’ gambling activities.

ESPN announced on Saturday December 24th that Molina has been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That suspension is listed in the Association of Boxing Commissions database as ‘uncategorized,’ and few other details are available at this time. NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen refused to comment on the situation “until the meeting support material is released.” The next NSAC meeting is scheduled for mid-January.

Molina was originally set to face Jimmy Flick on the UFC’s first 2023 card, UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Gastelum on January 14th. Then the UFC announced that all fighters training under Krause would be banned from competing in the UFC while an investigation into suspicious betting activity was underway. While several other Krause-affiliated fighters quickly switched camps, Molina chose to withdraw from his bout with Flick instead.

Jeff Molina is the third individual suspended by the NSAC in relation to a suspicious betting line movement in the hours before a fight between the Krause-trained Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Minner lost the bout via first-round TKO after injuring his knee, and it’s believed that individuals with prior knowledge of that injury ran a scheme to pump as much money as possible through bookies for a Nuerdanbieke win, either within the distance or as specifically as via first round KO/TKO.

During a December NSAC meeting, the commission specified that as it stands, Krause and Minner were suspended for failing to disclose Minner’s knee injury. But with several gambling watchdog organizations and the FBI investigating, further violations could be forthcoming. ESPN noted that Molina is ‘linked’ to the current investigation that Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke kicked off.

It’s unclear exactly where Jeff Molina figures into the whole scandal. He could just be standing firm by his longtime coach James Krause, and forcing the UFC and NSAC to follow through on their blacklist of Krause during this larger investigation. There’s certainly a possibility that he was involved, as he was a part of Krause’s gambling Discord server, a guest on Krause’s gambling podcast, and was a self-described “MMA gambling degenerate” as per his Twitter bio.

Jeff Molina is currently 11-2 MMA and 3-0 in the UFC as a flyweight. His fight with Aori Qileng at UFC 261 was awarded Fight of the Night honors, and his next fight featured a heartwarming moment where his sick father got to celebrate his win. In Molina’s last fight, he became the first male athlete on the UFC roster to rock the special LGBTQ+ Pride Month uniform with rainbow colored writing.